Refuse heaps: Visionscape is a ghost, says Lagos Speaker

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, on Monday said the refuse management company, Visionscape, adopted by the state government to manage waste was not known to the Assembly, describing it as a ghost.

The Speaker stated this at a parley between the Assembly and civil society and the media at the Assembly complex in Alausa, Ikeja, in repose to a question on the heaps of refuse that were threatening to take over Lagos.

Obasa said the Assembly had waded into the situation, adding that some PSP operators, who were managing waste in the state before the emergence of Visionscape, were gradually returning to waste management in the state.

He said, “Visonscape is a ghost, it is not known to the Lagos State House of Assembly. Yes, we are one, but where needed we say no; and where necessary we say an emphatic yes.

“The Assembly has waded into the crisis of waste management in Lagos and we have appealed to the PSP oprators; they are gradually coming back.”

The Speaker told his guests that the Assembly was mindful of the responsibilities invested in it by the public, adding that it was working to be up to the task.

“Since last year when we met like this, we have successfully passed a total of nine bills into laws while we have also made 45 resolutions. Some of these laws address issues related to our environment, power and energy sector, transport, as well as education,” he said.

Obasa said the rapidity of the House’s response to emergencies buttressed the fact that no meaningful development could take place in an unsafe environment, adding that the Assembly had called for the urgent upgrading of all fire service stations in Lagos State with modern firefighting trucks, service equipment and personnel.

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